We'll tell the stories of various people: the Russians and the foreigners, representatives of different sporting disciplines, athletes, and coaches. All of them are united by the decision of the International Olympic Committee, which has nothing to do with issues of law and legal norms. This is a matter of trust. Do you trust the athlete and coach or not?
- It's a pretty small room.
Evgeniy Belov: Yes, it is. This is how the athletes, exiled from the tight Olympic family, live. Evgeniy is eating a mandarin. This is how we kill time.
- Was that hotel better?
- Of course, that hotel has bigger rooms, and it's a high-class five-star hotel. And I don't even know how many stars this hotel has. The bunk bed speaks for itself.
This is Evgeniy Belov, a Russian skier, a Tour de Ski prize-winner. In his life, he never had positive doping tests. He doesn't suffer from asthma or anything else that would allow him to be prescribed therapeutic-exclusion drugs, in other words, legalized doping. But it was Belov who was given the hardest verdict. a life ban from competing at the Olympic games and any other competitions. It remains unclear what kind of penalty this is and on what infractions it is based on.
Evgeniy Belov, World Cup bronze medal winner in skiing: My parents are nervous more than me. You can see it in their words and reactions. It's hard for them. They dedicated their lives to raising me as an athlete. And now all of it is... by this one decision...
Irina Starykh, Russian biathlete. Unlike Evgeniy Belov, she is not mentioned in the Olympic reports of McLaren or Oswald. Starykh didn't take part in the Sochi Olympics. Irina was disqualified for taking a prohibited drug. Yes, we will not prove that black is white but she completely served the suspension.
Irina Starykh, four-time European champion in biathlon: I served my suspension, I think I shouldn't pay the penalty for the second time, it should not be like that.
The International Olympic Committee doesn't want to let the athletes who have had problems with doping in the past take part in the Games. An important addition. It's only about those who have a Russian passport. If you're a citizen of another country and have served a suspension once, welcome to Korea.
Irina Starykh: The fact that I was allowed to participate in the World Cup is good and I get up positively for each race. Apparently, I have already passed through everything in this life, therefore I am strong in this regard.
The IOC is the only organization that has a repeated penalty for the same offense. But why? In order to better understand this, let's recall the Summer Games in Brazil and Yuliya Yefimova. Then the IOC prevented her shot at the Olympics, and only the Court of Arbitration for Sport let Yefimova take part in the Games only two days before the start.
Yulia Yefimova, three-time Olympic medalist in swimming: It's good that I'm swimming, that I'm participating at such a high level, because looking back at these 6 months, I do not understand how I stand here and how I could swim.
Now they're much better prepared for suspending the Russians. It will be more difficult for the Court of Arbitration for Sport to enforce the law.
- It seems that you don't have the fire in your eyes just yet, is it true?
Sergey Ustiugov, two-time World Cup champion in skiing: Yes, it's true. Because of the same situation with the ban of our guys. It is very difficult.
Do you remember how Yulia Yefimova looked like during the Olympic interview? Sergei Ustiugov, the leader of the Russian ski team, feels almost the same. He is in pieces. An empty shell of a man. He can't run in such a state. He was not banned from the Olympics in Korea, though. But there's no need for this. In general, he does not practice much-he just cannot do it.
Sergey Ustiugov: Any competition is good training, although physically I'm not as strong as I was last year, but I think we need to work tactically.
Skiers, by the way, held a special meeting on Thursday. The question was: should they go to the Olympics under a neutral flag? Of course, the event was private but then we got a video which told us everything that took place there. Special thanks for this.
Yelena Välbe, president of the Russian Ski Federation: All the 19 athletes voted for going to the Olympic Games, there were no abstentions.
Alexander Panzhinskiy, Olympic medalist in cross-country skiing: For each athlete, the Olympic Games is the peak, the biggest goal in their life and career and it would be wrong not to take this chance.
And now let's listen to the people who are watching it from the sidelines.
Martin Fourcade, the six-time World Cup winner in biathlon: It's difficult to imagine myself in such a situation, it's happened for the first time in history, and it's not easy to fantasize, but the main thing is that the athletes will be able to participate and will present Russia anyway. Even if there's no the Russian anthem. Everybody knows that Anton Shipulin is Russian, and he does not need a suit with a flag. If I had to choose, I would go to the Olympics.
Magdalena Neuner, two-time World Cup winner in biathlon: The decision of the IOC caused quite a clear reaction in Germany. In our view, this verdict is a good compromise but I know that many in Russia think otherwise.
The status of a neutral athlete for Magdalena Neuner without a flag or an anthem.
Magdalena Neuner: It is a difficult question. I do not know.
And if we talk with foreigners, we cannot disregard my reliable friend, Wolfgang Pichler, the coach of blacklisted athletes who will not go to Korea. Four years ago, Pichler worked with the Russian female biathlon team.
Wolfgang Pichler, coach of the Russian female biathlon team in 2011-2014: Of course, I will do everything to go to Korea if I'll have to, I'll go to the Sports Arbitration Court but I did not hear anything yet, I do not know whether I will be allowed to go to Korea or not I'm still waiting for some kind of announcement and I believe that I'll have time to say something before the final decision.
And the last thing. Russia was treated as the monopolist of doping. The same sources of WADA talked about doping programs in other countries. But these words found no interest there.
And the World Anti-Doping Agency, which was fully responsible for the sampling process in Sochi received no penalty. On the contrary, it acted as the accuser.
Dmitry Guberniev, Vesti Weekly, Austria, Hochfilzen
